India to assemble Russian helicopters

Moscow: Russian Helicopters holding and India`s Elcom Systems Pvt Ltd have signed an agreement to set up a joint venture to assemble Russian Mil and Kamov helicopters in India, the Russian holding said.

The agreement was signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin`s recent visit to India, press secretary Roman Kirillov said.

He offered no timeframe for the joint venture, only saying the first helicopter it will start manufacturing will be the Ka-226T multirole helicopter.

Under a deal signed during Putin`s visit to New Delhi, Russia will supply India with combat helicopters and warplanes worth USD 2.9 billion.

The two countries also signed a number of cooperation agreements in the defence and technology sectors during Putin`s one-day visit, his first to southeast Asia since his return to the Kremlin in May.

India is now the world`s largest arms importer and Russian-made military equipment makes up some 70 percent of India`s arms purchases. But Moscow has lost out on a number of deals to Western countries in recent years. Boeing was chosen last month by India over Russia`s Mil plant for a major helicopter contract.